Why did Hitler come to power in 1933?

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Introduction

Why did Hitler come to power in 1933? By Richard Ward wattsvilleblues@hotmail.com In the election of 1930, the Nazi party made its political breakthrough by gaining a vote of 6.4 million. This was due in part to the dramatic effect of the Depression and the groundwork done in the five years previous to the crash in 1929. In the first election of 1932, the Nazi vote more than doubled up to 13.7 million. It dropped by 2 million in the November election, but was still big enough to warrant Franz von Papen's alliance with Hitler and consequently Hitler's appointment as Chancellor in 1933. This was the culmination of many causes, both directly and indirectly related to Hitler's appointment. Firstly, Hitler had a great advantage in that he had already built up the groundwork of a nationwide organisation. This had been in place before 1929, but 1933 was the first time at which it could truly be taken advantage of. His charismatic speeches and addresses had attracted both young and experienced men who could run the Nazi party on a larger scale than Hitler was able to. Josef Goebbels, later in charge of Nazi propaganda was appointed Gauleiter of the traditionally socialist Berlin. In other areas of Germany, Heinrich Himmler and Hermann G�ring were attracting new members to the party and raising the profile of the Nazis. ...read more.

Middle

The Nazis offered to 'make Germany great again', an offer that no German could really resist, unless of course he or she was a Communist, believing in a revolution akin to that that happened in Russia in 1917. The Germans saw what they wanted to see in the previous statement, i.e. that Hitler would get rid of Versailles, not enter into a second war on the quest for Lebensraum. Sixthly, the Nazis were openly against Communism. They argued that German Communists were traitors who obeyed the evil Stalin in Moscow. They spoke of the destruction of the middle classes and how Russia was doomed in the hands of the Communists. The KPD and the Red Front engaged regularly in fights with the Nazis and SA. That was the Nazi speech to the middle classes. The Nazis offered the working classes Volksgemeinschaft and in that a sense of belonging. This was a seemingly attractive alternative to the Gesellschaft of Weimar Germany, where participation was obligatory, and by this stage unenthusiastically borne by most Germans. The Nazis would organise the country in such a way that everyone would be united underneath the leadership of Hitler and the Nazis. The other thing that the Nazis were seen to offer was a possible end to the Depression. This fell into the all-encompassing claim that the Nazis would 'make Germany great again'. ...read more.

Conclusion

This helped significantly in the creation of a nationwide organisation before the depression. If Hitler hadn't been such a charismatic speaker and good motivator, the Nazi party would realistically never have taken off. Although Hitler had not specifically intended it, the Nazi party ideology was well tailored to the needs of the Germans during the depression, had it not been then it is unlikely that voting Nazi would have been an attractive choice for just over 13 million Germans. The Great Depression was a great springboard for the Nazis. A cause apart from all others, the Depression was, although outside of Germany in the first place, probably the single most important reason for the Nazis getting into power. If there had been no depression, then it is agreeable to assume that Weimar would have continued for certainly the immediate future, if not longer. Lastly, the alliance with Papen was a very important short term cause that gave Hitler and the Nazis the opportunity to walk in through the front door of the Reichstag to power, as opposed to attempting (and in all likelihood failing) to kicking the back door in. If Papen had not convinced Hindenburg to appoint Hitler, then quite probably the Nazis would not have had a chance to get into power in this period. Hitler came to power in 1933 as the result of several long and short term causes, the most important being the Great Depression of 1929-32 and the alliance struck with Papen. ...read more.

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